A Son's Tribute

Frederick Henry Doe was a man so loved and respected, people throughout his family have used the name Frederick whenever it was reasonably possible sometimes as a first name other times as a middle name. My daughter is going to have a boy in September. Giving the name Frederick a rest, this baby will be named Henry. The passage of time does not seem to dim the impact this quiet strong man had on those around him. Nine years before F.H. Doe died, my husband, the youngest son put into words what his father meant to him. With Steve's permission I would like to share with you what he wrote.

In the land where I live
the word "father" breeds dreams,
dreams that twist and stir within.
Dreams of voids,
of fathers long absent,
of silent, stony men.
Dreams of words and looks to kill the spirit,
or dreams too dark to speak.

But, there is for me, joy in that word.
"Father is a surveyor and engineer with a slide rule,
a gardener in clothes that smell of soil,
a carpenter measuring twice and cutting once,
a camper knowing how woods are alive to God,
a tenor voice at night,
crowding memories in each word.

I have been blessed to live in that better land
where dreams of that word are not dark but light,
Where the word evokes love not fear,
love for a man of honesty, skill, wisdom.
The word "Father" speaks sweetly to me of more than mine,
of no dream but truth in the true Father,
the Father that shines so brightly in my father.



May God bless our families with more fathers who seek to reflect the character of the Father.